2018-2019 General Lightning Discussion - Part 2

[Rschmitz]

From what I recall Tuch was considered a pretty good prospect at the time. Cernak is no Dumba, and at least Killorn is still a top-6 winger.

Even if we lost one of ABB/Katchouk/Raddysh, I'd be okay with it.

I would want to keep Katchouk

 

[bigdaddio]

Good article but I think Stralls is the solution.

The Girardi situation is easy to fix. Don't play him in the playoffs. In fact, come playoffs, especially against physical teams, we should rely on our top 4D for the vast majority of the minutes.

 

[BowDownToVasilevskiy]

Hit Leaders so far this season.
1. Girardi - 124 Hits
2. Cernak - 119 Hits
3. Sergachev - 63 Hits

Cernak just loves to throw the body out there. We are really going to need his physical play in the playoffs. Also important to note Cernak has played 19 fewer games than Girardi.

 

[bigdaddio]

Hit Leaders so far this season.
1. Girardi - 124 Hits
2. Cernak - 119 Hits
3. Sergachev - 63 Hits

Cernak just loves to throw the body out there. We are really going to need his physical play in the playoffs. Also important to note Cernak has played 19 less games than Girardi.

And the percentage of time a hit results in the other player's arse on the ice is pretty damn high with Cernak.

 

[The Macho King]

Hit Leaders so far this season.
1. Girardi - 124 Hits
2. Cernak - 119 Hits
3. Sergachev - 63 Hits

Cernak just loves to throw the body out there. We are really going to need his physical play in the playoffs. Also important to note Cernak has played 19 less games than Girardi.

*fewer

I like how Cernak hits. He doesn't really pull himself out of position to do it.

 

[BowDownToVasilevskiy]

*fewer

I like how Cernak hits. He doesn't really pull himself out of position to do it.

Oops will fix that now

 

[hagg18]

Good article but I think Stralls is the solution.

It Will be hard to find someone better then stralman with learning the system and so on. It took Mac some time last year. The reason girardi plays with Hedman instead of Stralman, is that he doesn’t play well with either serg, coburn or Mac.

 

[Stormbreaker]

 

[TeslaCoilFan]

Good article but I think Stralls is the solution.

It Will be hard to find someone better then stralman with learning the system and so on. It took Mac some time last year. The reason girardi plays with Hedman instead of Stralman, is that he doesn’t play well with either serg, coburn or Mac.

TBH, the Strålman who was struggling after returning from injury would not have been the answer. And before Cernak came up, we would have needed to look for another solid RHD at the TDL. However, in the last few games, Strålman has looked (and moved) more like his old self, especially when paired with Hedman. That last game they were paired, they looked a hell of a lot like the 2014-2015 & 2015-2016 pairing which was one of the top in the League. And Cernak has been outstanding!

Just let the playoff top-4 be Hedman-Strålman and McDonagh-Cernak. And let the third pairing rotate between being Coburn/Sergachev and Sergachev/Girardi. Before you faint over the last pairing, they actually had a little success together briefly when Hedman went down. Just keep Coburn and Girardi OFF the same pairing.

And yeah, the reason Girardi was put with Hedman is that was the only pairing in which he didn't suck. If you remember, when we first acquired Mac, he was paired with Girardi and Strålman was moved up from mentoring Sergachev to be back with Heddy. Didn't last more than a few games as the Mac/G pairing stunk. So McStråls was born and was our dominant shutdown pair all the way through the playoffs, to the everlasting chagrin of Ranger fans who would have LOVED to have seen that pairing more in NY.

Now that McDonagh and Cernak have established an excellent chemistry, let Hedman and Strålman re-create their epic chemistry. Makes for one helluva top-4.

 

[LTIR Trickery]

The Girardi situation is easy to fix. Don't play him in the playoffs. In fact, come playoffs, especially against physical teams, we should rely on our top 4D for the vast majority of the minutes.

What do you mean, against teams like that (see: lumbering, slower) he is fantastic at shot suppression because big physical teams get grindy and aren't shooting a ton off the rush. He really struggles when teams are fast though, but at least he doesn't chase like 98 does.

 

[JoVel]

If we win the Cup this season, I wonder if the no Cup crowd will see BriseBois as a better GM than Yzerman.

 

[Outl4w]

Hit Leaders so far this season.
1. Girardi - 124 Hits
2. Cernak - 119 Hits
3. Sergachev - 63 Hits

Cernak just loves to throw the body out there. We are really going to need his physical play in the playoffs. Also important to note Cernak has played 19 fewer games than Girardi.

Bish please, we won that trade so hard! Cernak was a steal.

 

[Outl4w]

If we win the Cup this season, I wonder if the no Cup crowd will see BriseBois as a better GM than Yzerman.

They both played vital roles, but It appears BB can motivate Cooper to install the killer instinct in the team. We need that in the playoffs. I love Stevie Y for all he did for us and instilling the winning culture. I hope he finds peace of mind in his personal life. He built the foundation for this team. From ground zero with Stamkos and Hedman already on the roster. Everything else was SY and his staff.

 

[Lightning1995]

I don’t know what pictures Palat has on Coop to stay in the top 6 over JT?

Admittedly Miller was awful on the 3rd line last night. It seems obvious he can produce as a top 6. Why not see if Palat fits in with Cirelli and Killorn?

Hard to complain about anything but this does make me scratch my head. Only thought I have is trying to recreate TKO with Stammer instead of Kuch?

 

[Sky04]

I don’t know what pictures Palat has on Coop to stay in the top 6 over JT?

Admittedly Miller was awful on the 3rd line last night. It seems obvious he can produce as a top 6. Why not see if Palat fits in with Cirelli and Killorn?

Hard to complain about anything but this does make me scratch my head. Only thought I have is trying to recreate TKO with Stammer instead of Kuch?

Palat had that good feed to Stamkos one the PP but it just seems he magically appeared back on the 1st PP and next to Stamkos - especially given the game Miller had the day before.

 

[TheDaysOf 04]

Kuch needs 4 goals to hit the 30 goal mark. When he does, he'll join Stammer and Point and it'll be the 2nd time in franchise history that the Bolts have had three 30 goal scorers in the same season. The first time was in 2005-06 with Vinny (35), Marty (31), & Modin (31). All 3 players were still behind Richards and Prospal in points that year.

Bolts were close in 2014-15 / Stamkos (43), Johnson (29), Kucherov (29) & in 2003-04 / St. Louis (38), Lecavalier (32), Modin (29) --- 2 teams that both made the Cup Finals.

 

[Sky04]

Kuch needs 4 goals to hit the 30 goal mark. When he does, he'll join Stammer and Point and it'll be the 2nd time in franchise history that the Bolts have had three 30 goal scorers in the same season. The first time was in 2005-06 with Vinny (35), Marty (31), & Modin (31). All 3 players were still behind Richards and Prospal in points that year.

Bolts were close in 2014-15 / Stamkos (43), Johnson (29), Kucherov (29) & in 2003-04 / St. Louis (38), Lecavalier (32), Modin (29) --- 2 teams that both made the Cup Finals.

We'd have 3 40 goal scorers this year if Kuch wasn't slacking so much.

 

[bov]

I think some are being a bit harsh on Palat. I'm not too caught up with his production (which is respectable anyway) and the mistakes he makes are typically those of "too much" effort or trying to make plays at least...He's the second best true winger on the team still imo, and arguably our best defensive forward. If history is any indicator, we can hope for an increase in his offense as the season winds down.

 

[Sky04]

I think some are being a bit harsh on Palat. I'm not too caught up with his production (which is respectable anyway) and the mistakes he makes are typically those of "too much" effort or trying to make plays at least...He's the second best true winger on the team still imo, and arguably our best defensive forward. If history is any indicator, we can hope for an increase in his offense as the season winds down.

If this were 3 years ago.......he's living off reputation I've barely seen any plays this year that indicate he's that. He's got his big contract now, he needs to stay healthy and stay productive, guy literally takes 4 months to get going every season.

What does it matter what he does when the season winds down? Tampa is pretty much locked in a playoff position now and should be almost every year at this point, all he does now is stat pad.

 

[DFC]

Palat had that good feed to Stamkos one the PP but it just seems he magically appeared back on the 1st PP and next to Stamkos - especially given the game Miller had the day before.

What's Palat's NTC look like? Possible we're trying to dangle him? Illogical PP time usually leads to that with Coop.

 

[bov]

If this were 3 years ago.......he's living off reputation I've barely seen any plays this year that indicate he's that. He's got his big contract now, he needs to stay healthy and stay productive, guy literally takes 4 months to get going every season.

What does it matter what he does when the season winds down? Tampa is pretty much locked in a playoff position now and should be almost every year at this point, all he does now is stat pad.

Typically, his production is far better in the second half as everyone knows by now so I'd say that bodes fairly well as we head into the home stretch and into the playoffs. Does it "matter" if he heats up as usual? I mean, it's not like the season is over after 82...I feel that would definitely be a positive going into the postseason where secondary scoring will be key.

I mostly disagree with the first paragraph although your points are all valid. From an offensive standpoint, he definitely hasn't made as many good plays with the puck the past season or two. His presence on the power play is debatable for sure.
Obviously health is always a concern with Palat ( and I do wonder if there is anything lingering), but I haven't seen much of a drop off in effort level or defensive play.

Salary aside, I'd have a hard time taking the likes of Gourde, Miller, Killorn etc over him at full health. Just me though maybe I'm being a bit optimistic.

 

[DFC]

Typically, his production is far better in the second half as everyone knows by now so I'd say that bodes fairly well as we head into the home stretch and into the playoffs. Does it "matter" if he heats up as usual? I mean, it's not like the season is over after 82...I feel that would definitely be a positive going into the postseason where secondary scoring will be key.

I mostly disagree with the first paragraph although your points are all valid. From an offensive standpoint, he definitely hasn't made as many good plays with the puck the past season or two. His presence on the power play is debatable for sure.
Obviously health is always a concern with Palat ( and I do wonder if there is anything lingering), but I haven't seen much of a drop off in effort level or defensive play.

Salary aside, I'd have a hard time taking the likes of Gourde, Miller, Killorn etc over him at full health. Just me though maybe I'm being a bit optimistic.

Normally he's well-heated by now. The contract may have changed things. I don't notice him nearly as much defensively. Johnson may have become the better, or at least more noticeable, defensive player, with the way he gets back to break up plays. Palat used to pick a lot of pockets and transition up ice. I'm not seeing much of that at all with him. Point, IMO, has clearly surpassed Palat as a defensive forward, and probably Cirelli has too.

 

[Stormbreaker]

 

[bov]

Normally he's well-heated by now. The contract may have changed things. I don't notice him nearly as much defensively. Johnson may have become the better, or at least more noticeable, defensive player, with the way he gets back to break up plays. Palat used to pick a lot of pockets and transition up ice. I'm not seeing much of that at all with him. Point, IMO, has clearly surpassed Palat as a defensive forward, and probably Cirelli has too.

I think that has a bit more to do with our depth and the fact that we now have numerous forwards who are also capable defensively. Point and Cirelli would have a case for sure though, guess I'm giving the tie to the guy with more of a track record but I can't debate that. Should have specified wingers.

I'd also argue that Palat's role differs slightly depending on his linemates...I find Palat more effective as the workhorse/complimentary 2 way guy on a line instead of being more of the playmaker, a role which I think he has kind of been saddled with alongside Stamkos (especially with Gourde on RW) in addition to being relied upon defensively anyway. I think the fact that Palat has been the LW on that line for awhile now despite not having great chemistry is a bit telling in itself.

He usually looks great with Johnson and/or Point, wouldn't mind re-visiting that.

 

[Hockey4Life91]

Normally he's well-heated by now. The contract may have changed things. I don't notice him nearly as much defensively. Johnson may have become the better, or at least more noticeable, defensive player, with the way he gets back to break up plays. Palat used to pick a lot of pockets and transition up ice. I'm not seeing much of that at all with him. Point, IMO, has clearly surpassed Palat as a defensive forward, and probably Cirelli has too.

He has a full NTC until the final year of his 5.3M contract: 21-22. YUCK. Literally the only fair criticism of Yzerman is that he handed these things out like candy. Palat is definitely not worth 5.3M right now. Nor do I think he will ever be worth it. In any event, I would love to have that space to allocate elsewhere.